Shaykh Mohammed Zakariya ibn Ismail (dāmat barakātuhum) began his journey of seeking traditional Islamic knowledge at a very early age. Travelling to the city of Holcombe Bury in northern UK, he enrolled at Darul Uloom al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah, where he would stay for over a decade.
Upon completing memorization of the Holy Qur’ān, he commenced the study of Arabic, jurisprudence and other Islamic sciences comprising the madrassa syllabus. During his final year, he completed the six canonical collections of Ḥadīth [al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sitta] under the tutelage and care of several masters including Ḥadhrat Shaykh Yusuf Motala (nawwarAllāhu marqadahū), Shaykh Islam ul-Haqq (nawwarAllāhu marqadahū) and Shaykh Hashim al-Jogwadi (dāmat barakātuhum) – all senior students of Ḥadhrat Shaykh-ul-Hadīth Maulāna Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi (nawwarAllāhu marqadahū). After graduation, Shaykh Mohammed Zakariya (dāmat barakātuhum) served as the supervisor and head instructor at Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiya School in Kidderminster, UK.
Shaykh Mohammed Zakariya (dāmat barakātuhum) grew up in a household of immense piety and has been blessed, from childhood, with the continuous company [ṣuḥba] of leading scholars and saints [awliyā-Allah], including his late father in-law, Ḥadhrat Shaykh Abdur Rahim Motala (nawwarAllāhu marqadahū). He has received formal authorization [ijāzah] in traditional Islamic spirituality [taṣawwuf] from his mentor, Ḥadhrat Shaykh Yusuf Motala (nawwarAllāhu marqadahū), his uncle, Shaykh Hashim al-Jogwadi (dāmat barakātuhum), and Ḥadhrat Dr. Ismail Memon Madani (dāmat barakātuhum) – all senior successors [khulafā] of Ḥadhrat Shaykh-ul-Hadīth Maulāna Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi (nawwarAllāhu marqadahū).
Like his respected predecessors, he is held in high esteem by both his peers and teachers alike. His hallmark is his extreme love for, and constant emphasis upon adherence to the Holy Qur’ān and the blessed Sunnah of the Master of both worlds (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa ‘alā ālihi wa aṣḥābihi wa bāraka wa sallam)
He currently resides with his family in Toronto, Canada. For well over twenty years, he has been serving as the Imam of Masjid-ut-Taqwa, where he conducts weekly gatherings of taṣawwuf, lessons in Ḥadīth, and teaches full-time Hifdh class.
*[ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa ‘alā ālihi wa aṣḥābihi wa bāraka wa sallam] = “may ALLAH shower Him, His family, and His Companions with tranquility, blessings, and peace”
*[nawwarAllāhu marqadahū] = “may ALLAH enlighten his resting place”
*[dāmat barakātuhum] = “(may) his blessings be lasting”